Update on my found goats

[GoldenMom]

Well they are officially mine! I talked to the guy that owned them 3 weeks ago today and he said he'd call back and arrange a time to pick up the does. Never heard anything from him, so I finally called him again this morning and asked if he had lost my number or decided he didn't want them any more (told him I had the means to take care them, etc). Well, he said just to keep them!!!! Now I feel comfortable butchering the boys (even though he said I could keep them, I didn't want him to come and pick up the girls and ask where the boys were). And at least 2 of the does are pregnant-I can't believe the 3rd isn't too, but I don't know. Can you x-ray a goat like you can a dog to see if she's pregnant? The one in question isn't even as big as my dogs!

These guys are pygmies (except the one doe that might not be pregnant-she's an angora). IF I decide I want to keep goats long-term, I don't know as I'd pick pygmies. So would there *really* be any value in keeping one of the intact boys to breed the girls back next fall? Do pymgy does have much value? If not, I'll probably butcher them too after they've weaned their kids (and butcher the kids to later). If I decide to keep goats long term, I'd probably talk with my neighbor's BIL and get some really nice Toggs from him.

So what do I need to do for the girls now? I'm going to assume (and pretty safely at that) that they've never been vaccinated or maybe they were vaccinated as kids-I'm sure the guy who had them didn't do anything with them. What about deworming? I will take a fecal to work tomorrow and see what I see. What about grain? They are eating browse and a little hay right now and don't seem skinny (the does weigh about 60 pounds?). Minerals? Anything else I need to know (I do know not to give the boys any grain-hopefully I can "take care of them" this weekend anyway).

[fishhead]

Whatever you decide to feed them make the change slowly. That seems to be very important with goats.

[powderhooves]

If you breed a pygmie to an angora you will get a pygora which has a beautiful fleece for handspinning. You can google pygora. They suggest you use an angora doe and a pygmie buck instead of the other way around because in that case the baby would be too big and could cause birthing problems.

[Otter]

I'm not the goat pro, but I can answer a few.
Yes, you can xray them like dogs. (so cool that you can just x-ray something at will - a little vet envy here )
No there is no value in keeping a little scrub male to rebreed the does. But the does will probably sell for more $$ then the value of the meat you'd get from them, especially the angora. There is a pretty good market for milkers of any breed, lots of people like the pygmies for dairy and the angora can be sold to someone looking for a fiber animal.

Yes they need worming and a mineral high in copper, everyone here has a favorite wormer and knows more about goats then me. I wouldn't guess they'd need grain if they are in good body condition. Alfalfa hay is a good idea for them later in pregnancy. (along with the browse and hay they have now, not as a total diet)

Have fun with your new project!

[powderhooves]

By the way congratulations! Welcome to the crazy goat click! I absolutely love this forum. There are so many wonderful and knowledgeable people willing to help. The vets here aren't up to date on goats and I've relied on my neighbors who have sheep...but learned all ruminants aren't created equal. I might add, the hard way. I wish I had stumbled upon this site much earlier.

[mygoat]

Pygmies do not have much value, really. Grade pygmies as pets or show animals often go anywhere from free-80.00 in my area and have little value in that respect. If you wish to start a very nice meat herd for your own use, however, having 8 larger, meaty pygmy does would be excellent for your needs - they need virtually no upkeep, don't need alfalfa hay, need no grain, and are easy to handle and keep. Does often sell easily as pets or they can be economically eaten too. Pygmies have a VERY high dress out rate, and I would usually do my miniatures at 5-6 months, weaning at 8-10 weeks, and having NOTHING but pasture that entire time (or cheaper grass hay if the pasture was overstocked).

Your mini does may meet the requirements for the NMGA, which can increase their pet value a little, as most does will probably sell for pets.

I would only keep the angora doe if you plan on venturing into fiber and are prepared with shearing materials to shear hair twice per year on a regular basis.

My first advice, however, would be to draw blood and send to a lab to test for CL, CAE, and Johnne's. After the initial test, I would do another in a couple months and then every 6 months. Isolate/cull as needed... With CAE you could allow them to raise their kids and NOT sell any, just butcher once the kids get eating size. With CL/Johnne's, I'd butcher immediately if you ever plan on owning other goats ever again.

[GoldenMom]

Originally Posted by mygoat

With CL/Johnne's, I'd butcher immediately if you ever plan on owning other goats ever again.

What about wanting to have a cow later?

[GoldenMom]

If they are healthy, I might reconsider keeping them. If they are really good little meat goats and don't hardly cost anything to keep/raise, I would welcome the additional meat for the dogs.

I'll draw blood as soon as I figure out how-I'd guess they probably won't sit still and let me put a tourniquet on a front limb like a dog!

[Otter]

Goldenmom, I take blood straight from the jugular. Get a halter on them, tie them short and it's very easy.

[GoldenMom]

I'm sure I can manage that! Now I just need to call my state's diagnostic lab-I see tests on their website for CAE and Johne's but not CL. I'd prefer to use this lab as it's only 20 miles from my home and I can drop the sample off in person rather than packaging them up and sending them by mail.

[Jeanette]

My vet drew from the jugular when I had mine tested for CAE (negative!!).

Jeanette
Hondo, TX

Always Learning!

[mygoat]

Yup, from jugular. It's easiest to have someone straddle the goat, and back it up into a corner. Then have them cup the chin and pull the face up into their chest, stretching the neck upwards. Then You just press the vein till it's 'bouncy' and poke. YOu'll want the vacuum tubes with the red top for their blood

Johnne's is transmittable to and from cows. Always iso and test any cows and keep them away from your goats, especially if you get them from auction or from an untested herd.

CL is zoonotic. Treat ANY abscess on goats/sheep with EXTREME caution. If it's not a worthwhile animal that comes up with an abscess, it's really worth it to iso and cull IMMEDIATELY. Iso ALL incoming stock and do not mix untill you get a pair of negative test results. Iso any that get sick or develop any abscess, even if it is not in a common place. Never lance an abscess, but it is preferred to remove it whole and send it in to a lab for CL test. The common site are the lymph nodes. CL positives are still edible as long as they are fully cooked and don't have more than a couple removable abscesses per carcass. It stays in the ground for 10+ years and is generally impossible to kill. Read up on it in the stickies above.

[thaiblue12]

I do not agree with the cull immediately if you see an abscess. Sometimes goats get them and they are NOT CL. I learned this after freaking out over one, $75 of testing later and it was not CL. She still has the dang pea sized lump and it will probably always be there. The chance you would contract CL is low. Goats get splinters, thorns, and etc from rubbing against things causing lumps. They also can get an abscess from a bad tooth.
The vet I used was a horrible alarmist who only really knew two things about goats... CAE and CL and that is all she kept harping on. I have a much better vet now who knows goats. Since you are a vet you can do alot of "doctoring" and testing yourself and I too am jealous.


Pygmies sell according to your area. Here I have sold pygmies within days of putting up an ad. Once I sold one sight unseen to a lady and she paid right then and picked her up a week later. People around here like them as pets, for 4H and as mini weed eaters that do not take up much space or use alot of feed. I got out of pygmies to breed Nigerians and I had no problem selling them all and no one balked at my asking price.

[Madfarmer]

If you have your CAE test done at Biotracking, they can also pregnancy test. Look at their website for complete instructions.

Madfarmer

[GoldenMom]

Well, I'm goatless again (and not because there's goat in my freezer ). The neighbor decided he *did* want the goats back after all. He came and got them Thanksgiving day.

I will have goats again though. Hopefully my Christmas bonus will cover refencing my pastures (I just need new wire, the posts are in good shape yet), so I will probably wait until spring. I think I might try having a small Boer herd for meat and maybe run a Togg doe or two with them for milk. Boers are popular around here and I think I wouldn't have too much trouble selling them if I produced more than I needed for myself.

[mamajohnson]

Originally Posted by GoldenMom

Well, I'm goatless again (and not because there's goat in my freezer ). The neighbor decided he *did* want the goats back after all. He came and got them Thanksgiving day.

I will have goats again though. Hopefully my Christmas bonus will cover refencing my pastures (I just need new wire, the posts are in good shape yet), so I will probably wait until spring. I think I might try having a small Boer herd for meat and maybe run a Togg doe or two with them for milk. Boers are popular around here and I think I wouldn't have too much trouble selling them if I produced more than I needed for myself.

I'm so sorry your goatless!
I just wanted to let you know that I milked a boer goat with great success, and she had wonderful rich milk! I was actually able to save lots of cream out of her milk. I didn't realize she was the one giving so much cream (all the milk goes together) until I butchered her and it wasn't there anymore.
So, if you get boers, and have a nice tame doe, you could possibly milk her with good results.